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A KNOCK ON THE FRONT door startled me. I had no idea who it would be at that time of night, when I was in the middle of making my escape. My heart fluttered, and I hurried down the stairs to answer the door. “Who is it?” I asked nervously.
“It’s Kira. Can I come in?”
I opened the door and quickly motioned her inside.
She pushed her long black hair back. “I just wanted to say goodbye to my brother and to wish him and all of you good luck. I already gave him my long-winded speech about why I’m so against this, but he’s too stubborn to listen.”
“I’m so sorry about all of this,” I said. “I didn’t mean to sweep Jesse up in my mess.”
Jesse walked up behind me and shook his head. “No, this is my decision. I want to go, to keep you safe,” he said, staring at me with love in his eyes.
Kira looked at him and shook her head. “You haven’t changed one bit, Jesse. You’ve been stubborn since the day you were born.”
“Thanks for not telling Mom and Sam.”
“You know they’d stop you,” she said.
He nodded. “I know.”
“I just hope you don’t hurt Julie or Taylor.”
“I won’t. I could never—”
She gripped his hands. “If an episode rears its ugly head, just...remember everything I taught you.”
He nodded. “I know what to do. Don’t worry, sis.”
“That’s good, because their lives depend on it.”
“I’ve got it all under control.”
She nodded. “I scouted out the area around the house. It’s werewolf free. Julie and Taylor have lost their immortal guardians, so they must have fallen for the story, hook, line, and sinker. They truly believe the girls have transformed into creatures of the night.”
Julie gave her a fist-bump. “Fantastic!”
“I did see a few of Drake’s spies, but I took most of them down pretty easily.”
“You did?” Julie asked.
“Yep. We can’t have them following you now, can we?”
“Thanks,” Julie said.
Kira handed me a blue bottle.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“A vampire serum I obtained, but not as potent as the one you took before. Your eyes will glow and your fangs will be temporary, and will only show up when you’re angered. For the most part, you won’t be stuck with the effects for a few hours like last time, but it will give you the scent of the vampire. Take it every week.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“I went through a lot to get it,” she said as she latched her purse shut.
“We can’t thank you enough,” Julie said.
“Take it now,” Kira said. “I can’t let you go out there unless you smell like vampires, especially if more of Drake’s spies are lurking.”
“How much do I take?” I asked, eyeing the nasty-smelling potion.
“Just a swig.”
I gulped down a bit. It tasted like prescription cough syrup, only a hundred times worse, without any cherry flavoring to help it go down easier.
Julie frowned after she took her drink. “That’s nasty!” she said. “How long does it take to work?”
“It works immediately,” Kira answered. She then pulled me into a hug. “Be careful out there...and take good care of my brother. I know he thinks he doesn’t need a bodyguard, but please don’t let anything happen to him.”
“I won’t,” I said.
Julie wrapped her arms around Kira. “Thanks for everything,” she said. “You’re a real lifesaver.”
“I hope so,” Kira said, looking lovingly at her little brother. She turned and embraced him tightly. “You take care of these two. I don’t agree with what you’re doing, but I understand wholeheartedly. As long as you stay off the radar, everything will be okay. Don’t come out of hiding until February. Tabby will keep you safe, so do whatever she tells you to.”
“Everything will be fine, sis,” he said.
“There are dangerous immortals out there who will have no problem hurting you, Jesse. Please don’t take this lightly. No matter what, you can’t let them find out that Julie and Taylor aren’t really vampires.”
“We’ll make the world believe they are,” Jesse said.
“Good. Sam and Mom don’t even know. They fell for the story like everyone else.”
“Keep it that way. The fewer people who know, the better.”
Kira nodded. “My lips are sealed.”
Jesse hugged her one last time.
Tears welled up in her eyes, and she turned to leave. Kira opened the door, then looked over her shoulder and blew a kiss to each of us. In a blur, she was gone.
Julie glanced out the window, into the woods. “Sure is dark out there.”
My stomach clenched. I hated the thought of going out there at night. “Yeah, we shoulda left before all the vampires woke up.”
“Why?” Julie asked. “They don’t want to kill us anymore. They think we’re like them. They’re probably celebrating. As far as they’re concerned, the fewer petals there are, the better. As for the witches and werewolves, they think we were turned when we got attacked, so they’re not after us. Right now, we don’t have any enemies after us.”
“Unless they discover our secret...or there are any of Drake’s people out there. Then all bets are off.”
“And that’s exactly why I wanted to leave at night,” Jesse said. “We have to do this right. We’ve worked too hard, given up too much, to screw up now. If one immortal had seen you out in the daylight, it would have ruined our entire plan. They know we don’t have possession of any daylight rings.”
“We coulda hid in the back seat, under a blanket,” Julie said.
He shook his head. “If you would’ve taken one step outside to get into the car, Drake’s spies would have alerted every one of their findings.”
“You’re right. I guess I’m forgetting my role. If we’re gonna escape in one piece, we’ve gotta play by the rules.”
I let out a long breath.
“You’re shaking,” Jesse noticed.
“It’s just so hard to leave,” I said quietly, my lower lip trembling.
He squeezed my hand tightly. “Everything’s gonna be okay, Taylor.”
I gazed in his eyes, desperately hoping he was right. I so wanted to believe his reassurances, but my heart was beating a million miles a minute. I knew we had to leave, because my parents would be back any minute. I sighed deeply. I hated leaving them, but I really had no choice; it was for their good as much as mine. With a trembling hand, I placed a note on the kitchen table. I had no problem with my parents, and they’d given me no reason to become a runaway. I loved them with all my heart, and I truly hoped they’d forgive me, because I had to do what was best for me. If I wanted to keep breathing for the next eighty years or so, I had to leave them for a few months, even if it hurt. Still, as I imagined the tears my mother would shed over that note, a couple of my own fell onto it.
Jesse packed the last of the bags in the trunk of his car as I cautiously stepped off my porch. The moon was shining extra bright, illuminating everything in a silver-white glow. It was a hot, humid night, and the crickets seemed to chirp more loudly in protest; those nighttime symphonies were another part of Big Bear Lake that I would truly miss. Once again, I couldn’t believe I was actually leaving, without even knowing the final destination, since Jesse had thought it safer not to disclose that to me. From what Kira had said, we’d be meeting someone named Tabby. Regardless of how badly I wanted to stay, I knew we had to hurry and leave; if my parents pulled up, I wouldn’t know what to say to them to explain what I was doing and why.
Then, in a blur, hands wrapped around my waist. Before I could even yell, I was being whisked away, against my will, deep into the forest, with the wind slapping mercilessly against my face. Trees zoomed past me, twigs whipping against me with stinging pain. In horror, I realized I’d been captured by a supernatural being. My first thought was that Drake had found out I was leaving and intended to punish me for it. He’d almost killed me the last time, so I was pretty sure he was there to finish the job. My heart lurched at the thought, but there was nothing I could do but hold on tight.